Humanity's strongest man
by jerkchester
Summary: 'Why.. Why isn't he moving? Why doesn't he get up? Wake up.. Please..'


A/N: _**YoooOOOOo. Ok, so another update from me to show I'm still alive and breathing.. I've gotten into SNK lately, and I kind of started writing another sad story. I know that most of this wouldn't make sense (i hope it does a little at least), but yeah- No hate, right?~**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

_Why.. Why isn't he moving? _  
_ Why doesn't he get up?_

_Wake up.. Please..!_

* * *

It was another normal day - well as normal as it could get in the life of Eren Jaeger - the titan shifter. He had gotten up from bed after the Corporal's quick visit and yelling for him to 'get his lazy ass out of bed and get to work'. Eren knew very well that what he meant by work was pretty much cleaning - or training. Either way, he didn't enjoy any of the options. Right now he was in front of the mirror, making sure he didn't look too tired before he moved outside of his room - out of safety and into a danger zone...

Corporal Rivaille was currently in his normal clothes for cleaning, mouth covered up with a white scarf. Eren questioned it a lot - wondering why the hell someone like him acted like this around something as harmless as dust. Corporal Rivaille was mankind's strongest man - at least that's what Eren's point of view was - however, as soon as much as a piece of dust was found around him, Eren could have sworn that it was like the clothes popped on his body and he was onto it immediately.

"Eren-," the Corporal spoke, pulling the scarf down as he noticed that the younger boy was up, and Eren immediately straightened up, fist clenched and held against his chest in the salute he was supposed to perform every time when Rivaille was talking to him or even close - or something like that, he had kind of lost track on when to do it - it just happened automatically. On instinct. "_Corporal_!"

"We're going to test out some new things with your abilities."

Always so straight forward.. _Sigh_.

"Understood, sir!"

Rivaille never really reacted to - what Eren called - the yelling when he spoke to him. In the big room that reminded Eren of a dining room it sounded even louder since it was only the two of them there now. The Corporal sighed, which made Eren frown slightly. The sigh didn't sound like one of the same irritated sigh that the ravenette let out occasionally.

It sounded more like he was tired.

Eren had no idea how he had learned to see a difference between the sounds that came from Rivaille, but in the end it just became something he got used to, and he couldn't really help but wonder what was on Rivaille's mind - he soon got to know it as the Corporal turned to the brunette again.

"Ya know, you can call me Rivaille?"

Eren - who now blinked in utter confusion - stared at the older man for a while, wondering if he really meant that. Was it okay for him to call him Rivaille?

"Really?"

"Yeah, just not around other people."

That was understandable. However, Eren couldn't help but smile slightly. Even though he had been against the other one for a while, he started to feel like there was a friendship growing between them, stronger than he had ever imagined when he first laid eyes upon the small man.

"Yes, Rivaille."

* * *

It was an emergency. Everyone was running around, panicking completely. Eren had never seen this coming - Titans. Surrounding them. He had no idea how they had managed to reach them, they had been so well hidden, and yet.. There they were, now noticing how there was signs of life inside the building, and they didn't hesitate on wrecking and hammering on the walls in attempt to break it.

"Eren! Come with me!"

The brunette snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Rivaille's voice between the yells and talking. The Corporal was now reaching his hand out, and instinctively - Eren grabbed it and followed after. He seemed to bring him all the way to the back, which confused Eren a lot. Wasn't the fight going on in the front?

"Don't use your titan powers," Rivaille spoke as they finally got alone, no one to listen. Eren widened his eyes, suddenly feeling slightly angered by the sudden order given to him. Not use his powers? They were being attacked and they needed him to use them!

"Why not!? You can't possibly fight all those titans by yourself!"

"It's complicated, just follow your orders!"

"But Rivaille-!"

"Eren! I said_ no!_"

This was hitting Eren like a knife. People would die if he didn't.. if he didn't do anything. If he didn't choose to turn into titan - there was a big chance that they'd lose many more soldiers than originally planned - not like anything of this was planned at all. However, he decided to follow the damn order, because if the Corporal decided that it was the right thing to do, he'd listen until there was no other choice..

"Stay here, they might have come here because of you."

Because of him? Eren was about to question why they would be after him - but then he remembered how the titans had been attracted to him - as if they knew he was there. They had walked towards him, had him in focus no matter what.. Maybe.. Maybe this was all his fault?

The sound of Rivaille using his 3DMG to get to the front meant that Eren had no choice. He sat down on a bench made out of tree, sighing as his elbow was placed on his knee, head resting in his hand. It was nice to sit there, feeling the air hit him - but at the same time - he could clearly hear the screaming - the crashing sounds of titans attacking the wall or just walking around. The back was safely secured with a big fence - the titans obviously to stupid to realize it was breakable - so it was safe for now..

* * *

Eren had waited for a long time, and when it finally started to get quiet, he looked up at the sky, listening carefully. No breaking sounds.. The fight had to be over. He waited for the Corporal to come get him, or call him, but there wasn't a single movement around him. Just silence..

In the end he came to the conclusion of walking inside again, so he opened the door and made his way to the front where windows were crushed, most of the walls actually gone. He watched dead people being carried away, body parts left on the battlefield.. gathered together.. It was always the same, horrible scene...

_ Where was Rivaille?_

Eren started to look for anyone he knew well enough to ask, and it took him some time to find them since most of them were gathered outside. He went to ask, but surprisingly enough - no one had seen Rivaille in a while. He disappeared somewhere in the fight. It was then Eren started to consider the fact that the Corporal could be.. dead. Gone. A titan could have gotten him, swallowed him whole. It caused him to get frantic, and he started to run around, watching the dead bodies pass him. How many did die? Why so many? his was bad.. Really bad.

His heart was beating as fast as he possibly thought it could as he checked body after body, none of them the small and familiar man that he had finally started to get to know - started to consider a friend. He felt tears gather in his eyes, but he then froze completely when he finally spotted the familiar man, sitting on the ground with his back against the wall. He was far away from where the fight had originally been going on, the green cape covering him up like a blanket. His head was resting against one of his knees that were pulled close to him, the other one stretched out. His blades were still in his hands, and Eren finally managed to move over to him, panting slightly.

_"__**Corporal!**__"_ he called, relief filling him from finally finding him.

Then he spotted it.

_Blood._

Once again the boy froze, but now he was in front of the smaller man - who seemed even smaller in a sitting position. It took him some time to progress the clearer image of Rivaille, and he told himself that no - he was just tired - too tired to look up - too tired to say anything.. Yeah, he was just tired. Who wouldn't be? Right?

Then why was Eren so scared? Why did warm drops of water trail down his cheeks as he knelt down slowly, reaching his trembling hands out to finally cup the smaller man's head. No reaction.

The brunette finally gained the courage to lift up the older man's head, and it was.. peaceful. For the first time in his life, Eren saw a whole new expression on Rivaille's face. His eyebrows were no longer knitted together in an angry expression. He simply looked like he was sleeping, lips slightly parted with a trail of dried blood reaching all the way down to his chin. Eren tried to wipe it, but couldn't do it because of how much his hands were trembling.

During the movement, the rest of Rivaille's body finally gave in, leg sliding across the ground and falling limp next to the other, stretched out one. His hand - which had been resting on his knee as well in front of his head, fell into his lap, and it was now that Eren noticed how loose the grip on the weapons were.

"C-Corporal..?" he shakily whispered, hands now moving down to Rivaille's shoulders to shake him lightly. His head now tilted to the side, still no reaction. Eren shook him again, noticing how it was hard for him to see through the warm and stinging tears in his eyes.

_It was a joke._

Another one of the sick jokes that Rivaille thought were funny, but no one else liked, and Eren would glare at him when his eyes opened.. When his.. eyes opened..

But they didn't open, and Eren felt the panic grow more and more as he got a tighter grip on the sides of the small man's shoulders, shaking him even more now. "Corporal..! You have to wake up! Y-You did it! You can.. You can stand up and.. Take a nap now.. Relax and I'll... I can take of your work! I can do the work you'll allow me to do!"

Eren kept talking to the lifeless body - refused to believe that he was gone.

That Rivaille was dead.

"Please.. Corporal..!"

_Wake up._

"... C-C.."

_Please, wake up._

"_Rivaille_..."

Eren lowered his head, leaning forward to rest it on the dead man's shoulder before he bit his lip and let out a loud scream. He never thought it would hurt this much.. Why was it hurting so much? Why did he care? This man... This .. mean old fucking man who beat him shitless back there.. This man that did nothing but give orders.. Why did this matter? Why? Why? _Why_?

"Rivaille! **Wake the fuck up**!"

He now looked up again, at the peaceful face, and he shook him again - this time with force. He yelled, screamed, but Rivaille didn't open his eyes - didn't wake the fuck up. Eren pressed his ear against the man's chest, hearing no heartbeat, and still he didn't accept it. Didn't accept the truth as he checked for a pulse - anything that showed sign of the man still being alive.

He then removed the green cape, and his eyes widened in horror. Rivaille's arm was missing, half of it. The arm that had been so well hidden under the cape.. half of it gone.. Just like that.

When it finally managed to progress properly into Eren's head that Rivaille was dead, he pulled the small, limp body to himself, curling his fingers into the black, messy hair - refusing to let go. Even as the other recruits came after hearing his screams, he refused to let go, refused to leave. He didn't let anyone come too close, and people were crying. Hanji cried. Erwin cried... But no one seemed to understand the pain that Eren felt. The pain the boy couldn't understand himself.

_You were supposed to train me..._

_Look out for me..._

_Why this?_

_Why now...?_

**_Why you?_**

* * *

A/N: I'm write lots of sad stuff don't I? I'm sooooooooorry! I hope you enjoyed (and cried, cause I did while writing this).

Love you all!


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